Glistening & Glowing to the max

 

It was a hot one.

This past week, that is. The weather returned to its usual seasonal heat, and brought a fair share of brutal humidity with it. 

Even the “cooler” mornings had me slicked & slathered with all kinds of dampness. Such is summer…

Before I dive into all the deets from the week, welcome to the Weekly Run Down!

I love hosting this link-up with Deborah (from Confessions of a Mother Runner)! If you write a fitness-based blog, you're invited to join the party. The link-up opens at 8:00AM (EST) on Sundays and remains open through noon on Monday. We love reading about everyone's weekly fitness endeavors, training highlights (or low lights) and race recaps. We ask that you link back to both hosts, and we encourage you to read/comment on the other linked blog as well...please don't link-drop & dash ;-)

Anyways, here's what went down in my sweltering little corner of the universe this week:

Sunday? Sweating & pedaling with my sis…

I got out for an easy 2-mile walk in the early hours. Then, almost immediately following church, my sister met me for some cycling action. I took her out on the Chichaqua Valley Trail, to its furthest western point, and then back. It’s the 15-mile route I’ve been riding on repeat. It was a toasty endeavor, with temps in the 90F’s and humidity at the extreme.

Never miss a (warm & balmy) Monday

I opted to run early since the temps were forecasted to be really, really hot by the afternoon. Just a simple little 2-miler amidst the start of the sunrise, and that was it for the morning.

After work, I wanted a tiny bit more of cardio (since the day had been too hot and much too humid for any workday walking), and my bike was beckoning. It was crazy hot, but I didn't realize just how hot it was until I got back home and checked the the weather app. Yowza...feels like 120F??? That 10-miler may be my hottest ride yet.

Tuesday? I kept things really easy-peasy

I started the day with a Barre workout and a full-body strength session (both via Peloton), then headed out for a quick 1-mile walk before getting ready for work. A very late-afternoon hair appointment kept me from doing anything else after (finally) arriving back home just before 8:00.

Wednesday - definitely feeling the humidity

Don't be fooled by the seemingly cooler temps sitting in sub-70 range, that 90% humidity will sneak up on you after the first mile. Yeah. It felt deceivingly cool when I met Kelly and Bill for our 4:45 run. We did the usual 3-mile route, then Kelly and I added a couple of bonus miles before parting ways. I'm glad I did a short upper-body session (in my cold basement) before hitting the shower, because I was still sweating after I made the drive home.

Thankful Thursday, as always

After a couple weeks of morning (indoor) bike rides, I switched it up and got outside and walked four miles (virtually) with Deb this week. With the dwindling daylight, it was still dark when I got back home, around 5:30. This time of year is such a paradox...the weather can still feel so summer-like, but the daylight tells a different story.

That evening, I headed over to Altoona (a short 8-minute drive) for the Thursday Night Run. Did I mention how hot it was this week, or how humid? We had a good turnout (a dozen or so peeps!), but it was a sticky and icky endeavor. There was a nasty storm moving in, which we avoided. The NW sky, though, was an evil shade of black, and it looked like midnight when I got back home just before 8:00...a mere 15 minutes ahead of the wind, rain and crazy thunder that followed.

Friday Fitness - low-key and low-impact for the double win

The great outdoors was still quite damp and dark, so I kept it indoors on the bike (eight miles), and added some more upper-body work before getting ready for the work day. By noon, the air was still a bit humid, but there was a nice breeze and the temps were comfortable, so I got out for a 2-mile lunchtime walk.

Long(ish) Run Saturday …

I had a busy day on the roster (hello, football!!!!), so I got out the door fairly early for a 6-mile run. Again, the temps were cool (sub-60F), but the air was oh-so-humid. Garmin even gave me a nod for "rising and grinding" for seven consecutive days, LOL. 

...and what's happening on Sunday?

As this goes to press, I have no definite plans, but there will be plenty of time spent outdoors. Saturday's weather was absolutely beautiful (warm, but not too humid, with a gentle refreshing breeze), and Sunday's forecast is looking similar. The odds are ever in my favor of some morning walking, as well as some biking (late-morning or early-afternoon).

So, this week seemed a bit out-of-sorts, but somehow the fitness stayed in-check. Running saw 16 (very sweaty) miles. Walking had approximately 14 miles (I'm guesstimating Saturday's walking to be 3-ish miles, which is included). Biking only logged 33 miles (I'm blaming a couple of busy evenings for that). Strength training was decent, so no issues there. Oh, and my wonky shoulder is finally feeling almost back to normal!

In case you missed out, here's what happened on the blog this week:

I Got This (I Think)

A few pre-fall 'fessions

In other news:

Friday Fashion Flair. Anyone else excited for football season? Honestly, it's probably the one thing that I actually look forward to when summer is on its way out. This weekend was Iowa's opening game (against Illinois State, and #spoiler the Hawks were victorious!), so I thought it only appropriate to wear some Iowa Hawkeye gear. Another #spoiler, you'll probably be seeing a lot of black and gold for the next several Fridays.

As mentioned, Saturday's game was the first game of the season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Iowa State Cyclones had their season-opener as well. I scored some free tickets form work for the ISU game, so Jim and I spent the majority of the warm day in Cyclone country (Ames, IA). Full disclosure, while I am a loyal Hawkeye, through and through, I gladly support our inner-state rivals when they're not on the same field. I don't have an exact total walking mileage count for Saturday, but my Garmin beeped at 12,000 steps shortly after we left the car...and by the time I got back home, it showed 19,354 total steps for the day.  

Lastly, anyone who owns a dog probably knows Monday was International Dog Day (though most of us truly celebrate our beloved dogs daily). We rescued Max in January of 2015, and he's been nothing but the perfect addition to our family. He's now 14-1/2 years young, and still has the energy (and mischief) of a puppy. 

Anyways, that's my week! The weather was over-the-top hot and humid, but things mellowed-out as the weekend arrived. I'm thankful I can tolerate it (most days), but it does make the daytime walking a challenge. First world probs, am I right?

How about your week? Did the weather get a little testy in your area as well? Do you have a favorite college football team that played this weekend?

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